Will Marriage Equality Opponents Take Us Back To The “Green Book” Era?

April 22, 2015

Terrance Heath

Last week, my husband and I visited the US Postal Museum. In the exhibit, “Freedom Just Around the Corner:Black America From Civil War To Civil Rights,” I came across a copy of the 1966–67 edition of the Travelers’ Green Book International Edition, or the Negro Motorists’ Green Book, commonly called the “Green Book.” Published by New York City postal carrier Victor H. Green and his wife Alma from 1936 to 1966, the “Green Book” served — as an editorial in the 1956 edition explained — “to give the Negro traveler information that will keep him from running into difficulties, embarrassments and to make his trip more enjoyable.”

The Negro Travelers’ Green Book, Spring 1956 Edition.

The “difficulties” and “embarrassments” black travelers faced included being refused food or accommodations by white-owned restaurants or hotels, white owned businesses that refused to serve them or repair their vehicles, threats of violence, and even whole “sundown towns” that were not safe for black travelers after dark. The “Green Book” was intended to help black travelers avoid facing violence or being told, “We don’t serve your kind here,” by directing them to establishments and businesses that would serve them.

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My parents, both born in the 1930s, lived with those “difficulties” and “embarrassments.” In those days, black travelers often packed meals, and carried buckets or portable toilets, and even cans of gasoline in the trunks of their cars, in case they were barred from rest stops, or refused service at gas stations and restaurants. The last “Green Book” was published in 1966, two years after the Civil Rights Act made it obsolete, and three years before I was born. Yet, during my early childhood, my parents still prepared for road trips through rural Georgia much as they did in the era of the “Green Book.”

Segregation or separation is thus a basic principle of Biblical law with respect to religion and morality. Every attempt to destroy this principle is an effort to reduce society to its lowest common denominator. Toleration is the excuse under which this leveling is undertaken, but the concept of toleration conceals a radical intolerance. In the name of toleration, the believer is asked to associate on a common level of total acceptance with the atheist, the pervert, the criminal, and the adherents of other religions as though no differences existed.

Nineteen states passed religious freedom laws after President Bill Clinton signed the 1993 Religious Freedom and Restoration Act, which was intended to prevent governments from placing restrictions on freedom of religion. Today, opponents of marriage equality are using bastardized “religious freedom” to claim a religion-based right to discriminate, should the Court rule that equal protection under the law really does apply to everyone. Business owners have already announced that they will discriminate against LGBT people, under the protection of laws these laws.

By the time I was born, the “Green Book” ceased publication, and the legalized discrimination that made it necessary had begun to fade into history. My family never had to hear “We don’t serve your kind here,” and my parents were spared having to explain to me the reason why.

As I looked at the last edition of the “Green Book,” I wondered if America would need something like it again. I wondered if someday my family might have to hear, “We don’t serve your kind here,” and if we would have to explain to our children the reason why. In my heart, I don’t believe America would take such a giant step backwards, but conservatives are working to force us to do just that.

About Terrance Heath

Terrance Heath is the Online Producer at Campaign for America's Future. He has consulted on blogging and social media consultant for a number of organizations and agencies. He is a prominent activist on LGBT and HIV/AIDS issues.